Total Pageviews

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tata has its eyes on China. The Indian automaker has announced plans to build up to 40,000 Jaguar andLand Rover models in the People ‘s Republic as part of its plan to target emerging markets. So far, there’s no word on exactly when Tata plans to open the doors on new production facilities or exactly where the factories will be located, but it’s clear that the company wants a taste of all of the new money cropping up in China as wealth continues to migrate from the West.

Evidently, Land Rover will be the first of the two brands to be built in the country. Last year, around 208,197 globe-roaming SUVs found their way into the hands of Chinese buyers – around eight percent of total Land Rover sales. Tata is hoping that lowering production costs and increasing supply will help that number swell considerably. From there, Jaguar won’t be too far behind.

Of course, the dark side of the news is that once the Chinese facilities go live, Tata will then shut down one of its two British plants. So far, it hasn’t mentioned which will get the boot.